Portland Has Installed Water Pipes that Generate Electricity!

Portland Has Installed Water Pipes that Generate Electricity!

We frequently hear itsaid that the consciousness of our planet is at or has been at a tipping pointfor awhile now. Like huge body of waterjust barely being held in by a barricade and all the time little sprouts andleaks of water and flowing through as the momentum builds up. Then…one day…like the roller coaster at thetop of the highest peak: WHOOSH! It will all come flowing out. This is happening now. If you heard about thedeath of Cecil the Lion, if you’ve been a part of the worldwide discussion onanimal endangerment, animal rights, green energy, and the like then you knowthat the well-being of the planetary body is of the essence right now.

Therefore, we celebratewith Portland Oregon as they add one more river to the ocean of transformationin their implementation of city water pipes designed to harness electricity atabsolutely no harm to pachamama. LucidEnergy is a Portland based energy company who has designed a brilliantmechanism which they have installed in city water pipes. Small turbines are installed which send theenergy collected from the force of flowing water into a power generator to beharvested for other use.

“It’s pretty rare tofind a new source of energy where there’s no environmental impact. But this isinside a pipe, so no fish or endangered species are impacted. That’s what’sexciting,” Gregg Semler, CEO ofLucid Energy, said in a statement.

“We have a project inRiverside, California, where they’re using it to power streetlights at night.During the day, when electricity prices are high, they can use it to offsetsome of their operating costs,” Semler says.

This exciting newinitiative has already been installed in Portland where the power is beingdispersed to provide electricity for various public spaces throughout the city.This form of green energy is even more efficient than other renewables becausethe pipes harness power 24-7 regardless of weather.

“We made electrical infrastructurereally smart over the last 20 to 25 years, but the same hasn’t happened in water. They didn’t really know that thepipe burst until somebody from UCLA called. Our pipe can get indicators like pressure,a leading indicator for whether a pipe is leaking or not. So before it burstsand before we waste all the water, there are onboard information systems thatwater agencies can get to more precisely manage their infrastructure,” Semlersaid.

The renewably pimped outpipes even have sensors installed to gauge water safety and quality. Semler shares that the development could bean excellent and practical solution for areas that are more remote and haveless access to the power grid.

“It’s a great source ofremote power. So in places outside the city that don’t have an electrical grid,you’re able to use the system to generate energy. There’s a lot of energy ingoing into making sure we have safe clean drinking water. Our focus is reallyon helping water become more sustainable,” he said.